


Yandanronpa | Prologue

by Sanakuma



Series: Yandanronpa [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Character Death, Developing Friendships, Eventual Relationships, Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Friendship/Love, Implied Relationships, Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), LGBTQ Themes, Major Original Character(s), Multi, Murder Mystery, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, POV Original Character, Psychological Horror, Religious Content, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:13:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29192856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sanakuma/pseuds/Sanakuma
Summary: Honoka Atsuko lived a simple home life as a part time musician, until the day she got her acceptance letter into Hopes Peak Academy, where her whole life would turn upside down.
Series: Yandanronpa [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2143284
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Yandanronpa | Prologue

“This is pointless.” I mumbled to myself with a huff. Chemistry, the very demise of my being. If it hadn’t been a required course, I wouldn’t even be here right now.  
Oh, well, it’d be over soon enough.  
I’d be graduating a month, and moving onto bigger and better things. And by that I mean, something genuinely positive for myself.  
I didn’t get many of those.  
...  
My name is Honoka Atsuko. I was a sophomore in highschool when this all began. Just an innocent member of the music club, who lived a simple home life with her two cats.  
To say that today, I miss having such innocence. But even the dreary atomic mass equations could not compare to what was inevitably coming, as the clock just ticked the passing time away. 

I glanced at the acceptance letter on my desk. The envelope it had been so carefully sealed in, carelessly crumpled up on the floor. Despite the fact that the paper resembled a scroll from the first century, I didn’t deserve to have that around.

Hope's Peak Academy. A prestigious school for gifted children with gifted talents. Sounds like something out of a fairytale, a myth even. The requirements for this place didn’t help their case.

There are two things you would have needed in order to attend said academy. Firstly, you needed to already be attending high school. And secondly, it was required of you as an individual to be the very best at what you do. But granted, I wasn’t the very best at what I did, but here I am, the Ultimate Singer for 2021’s third year class. 

I wasn’t a celebrity, or anything special, really. I sang for fun, I could read sheet music. I dabbled a bit on my acoustic guitar that my mother got me for Christmas last year. Occasionally, I would get gigs at coffee shops and local events, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten. I had yet to really perform for anyone at that point.  
Well, except for one person.

He said my voice sounded like a sweet summer morning. And that all the nature surrounding us would practically sway in perfect harmony to the sound.  
...

I was quickly snapped out of my gaze by my mother, barging into my room once more to tell me that she was proud of me and yada, yada, all that jazz.  
I know she meant well. But, did I really deserve this?

I glanced around at my hot pink walls that I never bothered to paint over, decorated with floral decals. The silk curtains draped across the window, hanging over my desk swaying back and forth in a melody. Perhaps the breeze mimicked a song that day. The sky was a deep orange that night. It was getting late. I glanced at my laptop, still opened to my usual playlist. The cold sandwich my mom brought me for lunch that I never touched. My piles of unfinished chemistry homework that mocked me from afar.  
My guitar.  
...  
I almost always had some kind of music playing.  
It was quiet.  
Something felt... wrong.  
…

The next week went by in a blur. I said my farewells to my friends and even some of my teachers. I put on a facade of pride, I pretended to be proud of myself, when really, I wasn’t. Friday rolled around after another uneventful week, but the upcoming could have possibly changed everything. Last month, I had gotten a gig at one of my favorite coffee shops downtown. It was quite a hotspot for rising musicians that wanted to make it big, it was so hard to get an opening but I managed. Despite being a nervous wreck about the ordeal, I pulled myself together. My friends would have my back tonight. 

I practically skipped my way out the front entrance once that bell rang. Despite being the clumsiest person alive, I somehow managed to not bump into anyone. My best friend, who I had nicknamed ‘Ginger’, was right behind me. They had been supporting me since the very beginning, I couldn’t have been more grateful that they had decided to tag along, especially with me leaving first thing in the morning on Sunday.  
“Ready to go?” they asked curiously. “If we hurry, we can get back to your place in time. I’m not the best with this sort of thing, but I grabbed, like, 15 different palettes on my way out this morning.”  
I hummed and nodded hastily as a response for the time being, glancing around as the crowd behind us became smaller and smaller. After a few seconds passed or so, I answered legitimately:  
“Yeah, just waiting for him.”  
Ginger gave me a look, one of both concern and confusion.  
“... Who?”  
I stopped. There was a hitch in my throat.  
… Who was I waiting for?  
“Uh…” I laughed nervously, imaginary sweat practically dripping down my forehead. As much as I was trying to play it off as a happy accident, I was legitimately afraid at the time. “Nevermind, let’s go.”  
Ginger nodded, but continued to glance at me as they got further ahead.  
“Hey! Stop looking at me like that…” I huffed. They could be a real pain sometimes, they always knew what was up with me. “I’m fine, I promise.”  
“If you say so…”

Sunday finally came. The big day… this was going to be an absolute game changer. My old life was far too simple for my liking, and it was time for bigger and better things! Whatever was waiting for me up ahead, I was ready!  
I had done a bit of research on some of my classmates the night prior, and some of them were really interesting. I shouldn’t have been surprised to be enrolled in the same class with some genuine celebrities, but it’s still kind of a shocker. 

Like Jisuku Takahashi, who had picked up the title of “Ultimate Actress”. She had been in tons of performances, getting her first debut at the ripe age of six. I believe that at one point she had even gotten to travel to the United States to perform on Broadway. From all the articles I’ve read, her family appeared to be spoiled rich because of her career. My mother and I tried our best to sustain ourselves, but despite our efforts, we were considered lower class. I wasn’t sure what to expect, going to school with someone like that. 

Furthermore, a girl named Nokira Tomuki was going to be in my class as well. She was known as the “Ultimate Influence”. Probably with even more recognition than Takahashi, Tomuki had maintained a massive following on all of her social media platforms. She had a lot of special skills, was charismatic, kept her fans entertained with all her livestreams, meetups, giveaways, so on. Although, it wasn’t hard to find things out about her, since she had put practically everything about herself online. 

There were a lot of others that seemed intimidating just by the titles they had been granted. There was the “Ultimate Illusionist”, the “Ultimate Mathematician”, the “Ultimate… Ultimate”? Whatever that was supposed to mean, I wasn’t sure. 

At least I’d be able to talk about my performance at the cafe… even if I was having trouble remembering how it went..

The school’s entrance was elegant, almost... The stone brick road pathway neatly paved, not a scuff mark to be seen. Pink cherry blossom trees lined the sides evenly, their petals falling almost in a perfect sync. A massive arch up ahead that said in bold: “Hope’s Peak Academy”. There were iron bars behind it, they were thick, sturdy, and so close together that I could barely stick my arm through it. I suppose it wasn’t all that surprising, this was the top school of the country after all. 

There was a big red button located on the side door, and like any blatant idiot would do, I pushed it with no hesitation.  
“Name?” a voice replied through the intercom.  
“Honoka. Honoka Atsuko.”  
There was a pause.  
“Ah! Ms. Atsuko. Come in.”  
The bars opened, slowly but surely, this felt like a new beginning.  
Or so I thought.

...

“Are you okay?” I heard a voice from what almost seemed like a distance. “I think she’s waking up.”  
It was dark… I couldn’t see anything.  
Wait, no.  
My eyes were just closed.  
I raised my right arm, balling my hand into a fist and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I didn’t understand at the time. Wasn’t I just at the entrance? I told them my name and everything, and now…  
“Are you going to say anything or not?” I heard another voice shortly after. A less warm, definitely more impatient one. “We don’t have all day.”  
I glanced up at the two standing over me.  
“Hyobe, don’t be rude.” the girl snapped at him. “It wasn’t like she meant for this to happen.”  
No response from the male standing next to her. He just folded his arms and glanced away, avoiding any sort of eye contact with either of us.  
She ignored him.  
“Hi, I’m Nokira Tomuki, but you can just call me Nokira.” she offered a small smile. “Do you think you can stand?”  
I observed her features for a moment. She was average height, maybe a bit on the shorter side. Fair skin, icy blue eyes, freckles scattered across her complexion. Her hair was a baby blue with white streaks filling in random sections, neatly tied into a braid that draped down her shoulder. She was very pretty… then I came to realize who I was actually talking to.

Despite the instant wave of shock that had hit me just then, I got a hold of myself. I thought it would be weird to make a deal out of this now, after all I wasn’t really a stranger to her anymore. I was her classmate.  
“It’s nice to meet you.” I smiled back at her. “I’m a really big fan of yours. My name is Honoka Atsuko, but you can just call me Honoka if you’d like.”  
She nodded slightly as a response as we both rose from the cold floor beneath us. 

“And… you must be Hyobe. Right?” I glanced back at the one she had been accompanied by. He was tall, really tall. Defined features, a rather intimidating presence. He had a unique pink in his eyes, with just a hint of red, the exact shade almost impossible to describe accurately. His neatly cut lime green locks were clipped to the back, some strands still loose at the front. He was really attractive, to be completely honest.  
He glanced at me and clicked his tongue, making a “tch” sound at my remark.  
“Hyobe Dewa.” he corrected me. “I don’t care for nicknames, thank you. Now let’s get going. We’re already late.”

Nokira rolled her eyes and glanced back at me with a “don’t-pay-any-attention-to-this-asshole” look.  
“Sorry about Mr. Ultimate Ultimate here.” she whispered to me, clearly annoyed as ever. “His ego is probably boosted as ever just from that title.”  
I stayed quiet, not really sure how to respond, until-  
“You coming?” she asked, reaching back for my hand.  
I nodded hesitantly and took it, not knowing what I was getting myself into just then.

“What exactly are we… late for?” I questioned, tilting my head. Hyobe had taken the lead in front of Nokira and I, who were walking side by side.  
“There’s supposed to be an orientation going on in the gymnasium.” Hyobe replied, not even bothering to glance back at me. “I’m not sure if it’s already started yet or not, but I only came because it was implied that everyone should be there.”  
I bit my lip and sighed, Nokira putting a hand on my shoulder as an interjection and shaking her head rather quickly.  
“It wasn’t your fault.” she muttered sympathetically. “We’ve all had our own struggles arriving here today.”  
“Really?” I asked, a bit surprised. “I thought I was the only one… what happened?”  
“From what I can tell, some of us passed out or fainted upon arriving, most of us woke up in the infirmary, but you were last to arrive.. I guess that’s why we found you by the lockers.”  
I felt a certain weight on my chest. That’s an awfully big coincidence…

I glanced around, admiring the school decor and design. There seemed to be about three floors and a rooftop, each with individual classrooms and spaces dedicated specifically to certain activities. I guess that isn’t really surprising for a school dedicated to special talents. The place seemed rather empty though… probably just because I had arrived late. 

We eventually arrived at the gymnasium entrance… and holy crap, that place was huge. But everything about this school was huge, honestly. Especially compared to the small crowd in the center. I did a quick count, there appeared to be a total of sixteen of us. Weird… I had thought there would be so much more than that. 

I shrugged, I hadn’t really thought about much of the circumstances at all. I really hadn’t. Until I heard the intercom come on… and…  
That sound… that dreadful… awful sound. I would never forget it. 

“Well! That took long enough, but it seems like everyone is finally here!”  
Everyone stopped chatting amongst themselves and it felt like time had come to a screeching halt. The crowd all slowly turned towards the stage up against the back wall to see the curtains pulling away, a figure had been standing behind them. 

“You’re all so shocked to see me, I’m flattered.” he stated in a taunting manner. “Oh, how rude of me! I should properly introduce myself, shouldn’t I?”  
… That was the day he appeared.

“My name is Amuka! I’m the headmaster of this fine establishment, and you better brace yourselves! Because starting today, this academy is going to be your whole life.”

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally written on a different platform years ago and i’ve decided to return it here! thank you so much for reading, i’ve poured my whole heart and soul into this danganverse lmao. ♡


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